A fifth of the Bracebridge Heath development will be affordable housing

The Church of England has secured planning permission for a 1,087-home development on a 44-hectare site in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln. 

The development will be funded by the Church Commissioners for England, the body which manages the Church of England’s £10.3bn investment fund.

Designed by Leeds studio Architecture 519, the Bracebridge Heath development includes a residential care home, new transport links and public green spaces.  

“Bracebridge Heath will create a vibrant new community in the Lincoln area, in line with the vision set out in the local plan for new high-quality places to live,” Matthew Naylor, strategic land principal manager at the Church Commissioners for England, said.  

“Retirement housing will provide much-needed places for seniors to live, while a new mobility hub will give residents sustainable transport options.” 

A fifth of the housing under development will be affordable, with a mix of bungalows and two- to three-storey homes. 

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Development plans on a 44-hectare site in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln.

New local buses, electric vehicle charging points, bike services, delivery lockers, footpath and cycle links will also improve accessibility to Lincoln city centre and the countryside.

The site is adjacent to the recently completed Lincoln Eastern Bypass, which will receive a new cycle route connecting it to the development. 

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New open sports facilities and play areas for children are included in the plans. It will also feature a sustainable urban drainage system to deal with surface water. 

Bracebridge Heath will form part of the Church Commissioner’s plan to develop 30,000 new build homes on church land, of which 9,000 will be affordable. 

The plan is in response to the publication of last year’s Coming Home report which called on the church to do more to address the housing crisis as part of its mission to help the poor. 

The Church Commissioner recently submitted two other planning applications in Sussex: one at Barnham, for 1,250 new homes, and another at West Bersted, for 2,200 new homes. 

Last year, the Church of England announced plans to set up a housing association to become a “major provider of social housing” nationally.